


The Wonder Years

by habitatfordeanwinchester



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Elementary School, Alternate Universe - High School, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2018-04-24 01:54:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4901053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/habitatfordeanwinchester/pseuds/habitatfordeanwinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For four blissful years, Dean and Cas shared a bus seat. They got on at the same stop, then they spent the whole ride chatting or listening to music with the old iPod Castiel’s parents had given him. Yeah, they had a pretty good thing going.<br/>Or at least they did until the first day of fourth grade.<br/></p><div class="center">
  <p>*********</p>
</div>Love grows in unexpected places. Sometimes those places happen to be the pleather seats of a school bus,
            </blockquote>





	The Wonder Years

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the [September edition](http://spnwritingchallenge.tumblr.com/post/126849561279/welcome-to-the-september-edition-of-the) of the [Supernatural Writing Challenge](http://spnwritingchallenge.tumblr.com/%22). My prompt was "school bus" and for some reason the only thing that made sense to me was to do a longitudinal study of Dean and Castiel's school bus experiences.

“Hurry up, Mom! We’re gonna be late!” Dean exclaimed, rushing toward the street corner. He could hear all of his carefully organized pencils and crayons rattling around in his backpack, but he figured the reorganization would be worth it later. This was the part of the day he couldn’t miss.

His green eyes excitedly scanned the street for the school bus. He’d seen the big kids in the neighborhood get on last year, but Mom told him he needed to wait a while before it was his turn. After a moment of observation he determined the street was clear.

“Did we miss it?” He asked, his expression crestfallen.

Sam babbled excitedly in response. Blind to his brother’s distress, he wrapped his chubby little arms around Mary’s neck. “Dean, we’re at least ten minutes early,” Mary explained.

“Alright…” Dean said, turning back to the road. He’d adapted quickly to his role as school bus sentry. To Dean, it seemed like kindergarten could be nothing short of a grand adventure.  The past few weeks had been filled with questions for his mother. What would he be learning? Would there be food there? Was she coming with him? Could he bring Sam? She’d patiently answered them all, but Dean had decided that the only way to really understand kindergarten was to explore it himself.

He was so focused on watching for the bus that he didn’t even register the rapid clicking of high heels as Naomi Novak rounded the corner, a small dark haired boy trailing just behind her.

The Novaks had only just moved in a few weeks ago and Mary didn’t know much about them. She knew they had a few kids, and she’d heard from John that Chuck was a writer. They’d only spoken once, when she’d brought over a batch of cookies to welcome them to the neighborhood. She thought they were both quite pleasant, although it surprised her to see that they had a son Dean’s age. She hadn’t know they had any younger children.

It wasn’t until the Novaks were only a few feet away that Dean made note of their approach. He appraised them both quickly, concentration melting into a smile when he saw someone his own age.

“Hi! I’m Dean.” Dean said with a toothy grin.

The dark haired child look surprised to be addressed, but he bravely approached anyway. “Hello, Dean.”

“What’s your name?” Dean prompted.

“Castiel.” 

“Really? That’s kinda weird. I’m gonna call you Cas,” Dean didn’t give him any time to protest or adjust to this information, instead just barreling right along. “Are you coming to kindergarten too?”

Cas nodded slowly, looking down at his bee sneakers.

“Great!” Dean declared. “You’re gonna sit with me!”  It was then that he seemed to notice Castiel’s attention was elsewhere and his eyes traced a path downward to the other boy's shoes.

“You like bees?” he asked.

Cas’ entire expression lit up with one of the brightest smiles Dean had ever seen and he finally met Dean’s gaze for the first time. (Later that night Dean would go on to ask  his mother if Castiel’s eyes were fake, because he’d never seen anyone with eyes so blue. Mary assured him that the Novaks would not allow their five year old to wear colored contacts. Dean seemed impressed.)

 “Of course!” Castiel said. “ Bees are very important. They’re pollinators!”

“Polli-what?”

“They help make flowers grow.” It seemed that this marvelous flower factoid was only the tip of the iceberg, for Cas appeared to be gearing up for more, but fell silent instead when the bus rounded the corner.

 Mary and Naomi watched as Dean took Castiel’s hand in his and led them both into the great unknown that was the kindergarten school bus. Mary took hold of Sam's hand and helped him wave goodbye. Through the window she could see the two boys pile into the first empty seat together. She kept watching as Dean directed Cas toward the window seat and then promptly leaned over him to wave back. Cas joined in tentatively, but his smile was bright.

For four blissful years, Dean and Cas shared a bus seat. They got on at the same stop, then they spent the whole ride chatting or listening to music with the old iPod Castiel’s parents had given him.

Yeah, they had a pretty good thing going.

 Or at least they did until the first day of fourth grade.

At the age of eight, Dean fought for his right to walk to the bus stop alone, proudly grinning at Castiel when he showed up without his mother for the first time. After a few weeks, Naomi even began letting Cas walk alone too.

After over a year of Dean arriving alone it came as a surprise to Cas when Dean turned the corner, walking hand in hand with Sam.

“Mom says I need to take care of him.” Dean explained.

“I’m not a baby!” Sam protested. Dean’s little brother was dressed in his finest purple dog t-shirt, and Cas could tell his sneakers were new because they squeaked when he walked. He also noted that, despite his protests, Sam didn’t let go of Dean’s hand.

Dean sighed and ruffled Sam’s hair. “I didn’t say you were. Mom just wants me to sit with you and make sure you get to school alright.”

Cas felt his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach. If Dean was sitting with Sam, where did that leave him? He still remembered his first day of school, how nervous he’d been. It would be good for Sam to sit with Dean, but he couldn’t help worrying a little. If they didn’t sit together anymore, would Dean still want to talk to him at school? Would they still meet up on weekends to play?

The panic must have shown on his face because Dean had just opened his mouth to say something when the bus pulled up at the curb next to them. Castiel forced himself to ignore the sadness as he climbed up the steps, greeting their bus driver politely as he passed.

He settled into the seat he usually shared with Dean, sliding over to the window before he remembered that there was no one to make room for. Cas placed his backpack on the seat next to him so he wouldn’t have to look at the empty space. He heard Dean and Sam claim the seat directly behind him and listened as they briefly fought over their seating arrangement.

After a few minutes of gazing out the window, Cas finally decided it was time to occupy himself. He and Dean had a good run. It was a new school year, and he didn’t intend to start it off by sulking. Besides. he had no reason to think that the bus rides were as fun for Dean as they were for him. Maybe the could sit together at lunch or something. 

Resolved to move on, he unzipped his backpack and retrieved a worn copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. He was only just in the middle of Harry’s search for the perfect wand when a quiet voice startled him.

“Hey, Cas.”

Castiel whipped around in his seat, turning completely backward, only to find himself staring at Dean’s smirking face, happily peering at him through the crack between the seats.

“What are you doing?”

Dean rolled his eyes, exaggerated and slow. “I’m talking to you, dork.”

“You hate the window! You said it makes you motion sick!” Cas protested, suddenly a little worried for his friends health.

“I’ll be fine, Cas. I just wanted to talk!”

Dean hadn’t forgotten him after-all. Dean still wanted to talk to him. Until that moment, Cas had never really related when the characters in his stories got butterflies in their stomach, but suddenly he understood with sharp and violent clarity.

Cas considered this arrangement for a moment. It would definitely be better to talk to Dean through the seats than not to talk at all, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable to sit like this. There had to be a better way…

And that’s when it hit him. He rummaged through his backpack and retrieved an empty spiral bound notebook as well as one of his many pencils. He turned to the first page and carefully, in his best handwriting, penned out ‘Hello, Dean’.

At first he wasn’t sure what his friend would think of the idea, but he passed the notebook between the seats and watched Dean’s eyes light up. His reservations melted away.

On the second day they figured out that Dean could take the aisle seat and still safely pass the notebook to Cas, as long as they were quick. The bus driver had zero tolerance for loitering in the aisle, even while the bus was moving.

 Once Dean’s worries of motion sickness were assuaged, it became something of a game. They felt like spies, recording observations in their notebook. For the next month they passed the book back and forth, filling it up with haphazard doodles, disjointed thoughts and abandoned games of tic-tac-toe. Eventually the day came when Sam made friends with a beautiful little blond girl from down the road, and Cas got his seat buddy back.

Some days they still wrote in the notebook, just for fun.

 

 

“Dean Winchester, what the hell are you wearing?” Cas scolded as his friend slid into the bus seat next to him.

“What do you mean?” Dean said, playing dumb.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Cas glared at his friends tank top and basketball shorts. “It is the middle of winter, Dean.”

Dean shrugged and gave Cas that stupid, mind-melting grin that had gotten him out of trouble more times than anyone could count. “I think it’s Alastair’s idea of a joke. I got back to the locker room after gym today and my other clothes were soaking wet in an empty shower stall,” Dean explained, and Cas felt his chest tighten. “Of course, because it’s Alastair, no one will admit to seeing anything, but I can’t think of who else it would be.”

“That fucking asshole…” Cas growled, looking his friend up and down. He could see the snow caked on the bottom of Dean’s gym sneakers and he knew his friend must be freezing. In fact, even clothed in jeans, a heavy sweater and his long beige trenchcoat, Castiel was still cold. “Were you fighting with him again?”

Without waiting for a response, he shucked off his trenchcoat and draped it over his friend. The heating system on the bus left a lot to be desired.

“I wasn’t exactly fighting….,” Dean said, slightly cowed. He glanced down at the trenchcoat in surprise, and Cas knew how cold he must have been by the fact that he didn’t protest. “It’s not fighting to tell a person they’re wrong.”

Cas sighed. “What was it this time?”

Dean shifted uncomfortably, avoiding Cas’s eyes. “Are you sure you’re alright with just the sweater? I don’t want to take your coat if yo-“

“Dean, you are still shivering. I’ll be fine with the sweater, don’t worry. Now, what’s going on with Alastair?”

Dean glanced down at the trenchcoat again, pulling it up around his neck and chest. He mumbled something into the fabric that Cas couldn’t hear.

“What was that?”

Dean sighed. “Us. It was us, okay?”

Cas fell silent. “Excuse me?”

Dean looked at him almost as if he were guilty. “They were just trying to get to me, talking about how much time we spend together and stuff. Said we were secretly dating or something. Alastair’s just mad that I made the wrestling team and he didn’t, so he’s trying to start shit any way he can.”

“But you’re _dating Lisa_?” For some reason it was the only thing Cas could think to say. Dean was his best friend. They’d been best friends for years.

Of course, as painful as it was to admit, it wouldn’t be entirely inaccurate to say that Cas had feelings for Dean. Still, Dean had a girlfriend, and then there was the fact that he’d never shown any sign of interest. He’d given no indication that maybe his heart fluttered the same way Castiel’s did when their hands brushed in the movie theater. He’d never blushed like Cas did when a hug went on just a beat too long.

Despite his feelings, for as long as Cas could remember it had just been a fact of life that his best friend was off limits. He’d seen his friend hit on girls before, all smooth one liners and coy winks to anyone who looked his way. Dean Winchester was not subtle, and Cas felt sure that if there was any truth to Alastair’s accusation, his friend would have said something.

Dean ran a hand through his hair and rubbed at the back of his neck, a gesture Cas recognized as a sign of nerves. This conversation must be making Dean uncomfortable, and he instantly felt guilty. “That’s what I said. I think he just wanted to get to me, but I’m not gonna let him be a homophobic dick bag, regardless of who I’m dating.” Dean muttered, and Cas saw him shiver again beneath the coat.

Dean’s words left his stomach in knots for some reason, but he tried not to dwell on it. “You still cold?” Cas asked.

Dean shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine.”

Cas sighed. Dean Winchester was a great many admirable things, but he wasn’t exactly known for asking for help. Cas didn’t remember deciding to do it, but he scooted over in the seat, closer to Dean, and shimmied underneath the trenchcoat with him.

Dean glanced at him once in surprise as Cas wrapped his arm between Dean’s waist and the cold pleather of the bus seat.

“Is this okay?” Cas asked. He wasn’t sure why has voice had gotten quiet all of a sudden.

Dean met his eyes for a long moment, a tentative smile playing at his lips. He nodded slowly and scooted them a little closer together.

They spent the rest of the ride like that, laughing and talking like it was completely normal to cuddle for heat. Cas reminded himself that it didn’t mean anything, it couldn’t. Dean had a girlfriend and they were best friends. Still, he suspected that the warmth flooding his body had more to do with Dean than the thin beige trenchcoat that covered them.

 

 

Dean and Cas stopped riding the bus together in the middle of sophomore year, when John handed Dean the keys to the Impala, along with strict instructions on the intimacies of her care. Shortly after that, Dean started driving to school. He offered to drive Cas as well, since they lived so close together, and after a few minutes of protest, Cas agreed to the arrangement.

For a while they fell into a new routine. Now that they could go directly to school, they often made time to get coffee in a drive through, or the occasional breakfast sandwich. Sure, it wasn’t quite the same. They no longer had two long 30 minute stretches of time to talk every day, but they got to see each other every morning, and they still sent each other texts every day. Unfortunately, Dean still had wrestling or basketball practice after school most days, so Cas often rode the bus home alone.

By junior year, Castiel had his own car, and as much as they hated to let go of their morning rides, it just made more sense for him to drive his own vehicle. While Dean had found a home in sports, Castiel had gotten involved with Mock Trial and the Model UN, and he often had to stay after school.

It was strange to think about their friendship, but Dean did it often. They stayed fairly close as they entered senior year, making time for each other on the weekends whenever possible, and texting each other jokes and photos of cats. Over the summer, it  got to the point where Lisa even began to accuse Dean of spending more time with Castiel than with her, although between school and sports he really didn’t have much extra time to spend with either of them.

It wasn’t until the third week of senior year that they once more found themselves sitting together on a school bus. It was the annual science club field trip to the zoo, and both of them were excited for the time away from their normal classes.

“So how’ve you been? I haven’t heard from you much the past few days…” Cas asked cautiously.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. It’s been a busy few days, and with the break-up last Monday, I just ha-“

“The what?” Cas asked, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Dean looked sheepish. “Yeah...I  didn’t really know how to bring it up.”

Castiel fixed him with a furious gaze. “You _broke up_ with your girlfriend of three years, and it took you almost two weeks to tell me?”

“I mean, it’s not like it was a big messy thing. Sure, I’m kind of bummed about it, but it wasn’t really that big of a deal.” If Dean was truthful, he’d always kind of loved it when Cas got all up in arms about something.

“How is it not a big deal?” Castiel demanded, leaning in close, as if compelled by the force of his accusation.

“I dunno, I guess we just kind of drifted apart. I think we both felt it coming. She just wasn’t…god, it’s a total chick flick thing to say, but she just wasn’t _the one_ , alright?” Dean said, blushing. He didn’t want to admit it, but the heat in his cheeks probably less to do with his words and more to do with the fact that Cas was close enough to smell his shampoo.

Castiel’s big blue eyes just stared at him in awe. There was a long moment of silence before he managed to regain his composure, and when he did it seemed to dawn on him that his ire had brought him so close that he was practically in Dean’s lap. He sighed slowly and leaned back in the seat.

They spent the next hour laughing and catching up, enjoying the way everything seemed to fall so perfectly back into place. The only difference was that Dean was suddenly aware of the way his thigh pressed warmly against Cas’s. Had Cas always been this warm? He tried to remember but found himself distracted by a stray strand of dark hair in Castiel’s eyes. He reached out and fixed and his whole body felt warm.

By all accounts it was an innocuous gesture, one he’d made hundreds of times before, although granted he’d been with Lisa for most of them. It was like his new single status had suddenly opened up the floodgates on something that had been brewing for years. Of course friends were allowed to touch friends, especially when one of them was safely under the protection of a heterosexual relationship. Now though, even small touches had an emotional resonance he’d never noticed before.

Upon their arrival at the zoo, the group was given strict instructions on where to meet up for lunch and then set free. Cas immediately procured a map for them and directed them to Asia Quest. He was particularly excited  to see the red pandas and the tigers, and within minutes he already had a rough idea of the route they should take in order to see the best animals.

While Dean was certainly excited to look around, his stomach presented a much more pressing concern. He insisted that they stop for ice cream, and Cas eventually gave in, despite protests that ice cream wasn’t a healthy breakfast.

Having taken this brief detour, Cas decided to take them through the North American exhibit while Dean ate. They were walking past the grey wolves and Cas was between bites of mint chocolate chip soft serve when he finally asked: “Are you sure you’re alright? You know, about the breakup with Lisa?”

And the strange thing was that Dean hadn’t thought about Lisa once since they’d arrived. His head had been too full of thoughts of tigers and puns he could make that would make Cas groan. “I promise I’m fine.” Dean assured him. “I mean aside from the fact that now I have to look for a Homecoming date.” he joked.

Cas snorted. “Because that’s your biggest concern right now. Not college admissions, not standardized testing or AP classes, just Homecoming dates.”

“I’m a simple man.” Dean teased around a mouthful of cotton candy ice cream.

“Well, I can assure you it won’t be the end of the world if you go alone. I have, and it was still a decent experience.”

It came out of his mouth before Dean could stop it. “What if you went with me?”

“What do you mean?” Cas asked cautiously, his words measured.

“I mean, I know it’s like a month away or whatever, but why don’t we just go together?” Heat flooded Dean’s body and he had to look away. His heart was in his throat and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this nervous.

Cas, for his part, still looked confused. “Like going stag, but together?”

Dean imagined this is what an adrenaline shot must feel like, ferocious and terrifying and straight to the heart. It wasn’t too late to backpedal and cover his tracks, but Dean was suddenly finding the idea repellent. He’d been tottering on the edge of this moment for over a decade, and it was high time he took a leap. “No, Cas. I mean, what if we _went together_. Like, we coordinate our ties and I pick you up at 8 and we let my Mom take a metric ton of pictures, and then go somewhere with dim lighting and overpriced food.”

The seconds that followed were the longest of Dean Winchester’s life. He watched Castiel’s expression melt into shock, to uncertainty, to tentative hope. “…A-are you…asking me on a date?”

“Yeah, I am. I mean, I'm asking you to a dance, but mostly...," he took a breath and tried to collect himself. "Look, I know it’s kind of weird and I hope you don’t think that I wa-“

For the second time that day, Cas cut him off. “Yes.”

 “You don’t even know what I was going to say!”Dean laughed. His heart racing heart still hadn’t calmed, but his nervous energy was quickly fading into excitement.

Cas looked bemused. “The answer is still yes.”

“You’re that sure about me, huh?” Dean said, taking a step closer.

Castiel, in much his usual fashion, didn’t back away. “I think it’s worth the gamble.”

Their first kiss was in the Heart of Africa exhibit, between the lions and the zebras. It was slow and sweet and well worth the wait. Years later, Dean brought Cas back to that spot, and this time he had a ring.

It turned out that Cas was willing to gamble once more.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [Tumblr](habitatfordeanwinchester.tumblr.com) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/heatherkcassady). Feel free to message me about anything! I love talking to people!
> 
> This story is also available on Tumblr, and if you were inclined to reblog it, you may do so [here.](http://habitatfordeanwinchester.tumblr.com/post/130175152797/the-wonder-years)  
> Thanks so much for reading! <3


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